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Is vegetarianism related to anxiety and depression? A cross-sectional survey in a French sample
Laurent Bègue1, Rebecca Shankland2
1LIP/PC2S, University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France. Laurent.Begue@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr.
Objective:
The relationship between vegetarianism and mental health is controversial. The aim of the present study is to examine the cross-sectional association between anxiety, depression, and vegetarianism in a French sample while controlling for potential confounders.
Design:
Self-reported questionnaire data were obtained from a large cross-sectional sample.
Participants And Setting:
We included an online sample of 6578 participants aged 18-90, 70.8% females.
Results:
Analyses of variance with age, gender, body mass index (BMI), educational level, monthly income, and city size as covariates showed that vegetarians and non-vegetarians did not appear to have significantly different levels of anxiety or depression.
Conclusion:
Our findings do not suggest a link between plant-based diet and anxiety or depression, either before or after adjustment for relevant factors.
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